Clinical Research

The Depression Clinical & Research Program (DCRP) includes 13 psychiatrists, four psychologists, three research fellows, eight research coordinators, one program coordinator, one data analyst, one practice manager, and one patient service coordinator.

More About our Program

An appointment at the DCRP can be arranged by calling 617-726-8895, option 4, for an initial phone screen to determine whether this program is appropriate for you. In many cases, treatment studies provide an excellent option for prospective patients.

Bethany Biller graduated from the University of Rhode Island with a B.A. in Psychology in 2008. Prior to joining Mass General, she worked as a Treatment Coordinator in Rhode Island serving and supervising home-based treatment to children with a range of disabilities. She also has extensive experience in the field working as a Mental Health Counselor in a group home setting for adults with schizophrenia and other co-occurring disorders. Bethany is currently pursuing a career as a Psychiatric Nurse Practitioner.

Mariana Cohen graduated from Northwestern University in 2014 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Gender Studies. Throughout her four years as undergraduate she was a research assistant at the Family Institute at Northwestern University. She worked with various labs including the Psychotherapy Change project, examining the process of client change in therapy, as well as the Depression, Anxiety, Relationship Distress and Couples lab, focusing on the relationship between relationship distress, depression, and anxiety. The summer after her sophomore year, she worked as a research assistant at the Harvard Warneken Lab for Developmental Studies, where she helped conduct two studies assessing sharing behaviors in children. Mariana also volunteered as an art instructor at Rosie’s Place Women’s Shelter in downtown Boston. After her two years at the DCRP, Mariana plans to pursue a PhD in Clinical Psychology.

Laura Curren graduated from Tufts University in 2011 with a B.A. in English and also completed a master’s in Psychology at Teachers College, Columbia University, in 2014. As a master’s student, she worked in the Maternal Psychology Laboratory developing an interdisciplinary literature review on maternal mental health. She also worked at the NICU Nurture Laboratory at the New York State Psychiatric Institute on a study designed to increase biologically important activities and behaviors to counteract the stress resulting from preterm birth and prolonged physical separation in the NICU. In the second year of her master’s program, Laura completed an Integrative Project assessing the validity and reliability of an innovative instrument to measure perceived maternal social support under the supervision of Dr. Martha Welch and Judith Austin. At the end of her two years at the DCRP, Laura hopes to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Dr. Lauren Fisher Dr. Lauren Fisher is a licensed clinical psychologist in the Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP) in the Department of Psychiatry at MGH. She received her BA from Bates College and her PhD in Clinical Psychology from Case Western Reserve University. She completed her predoctoral internship in the Cognitive Behavioral Therapy track at Massachusetts General Hospital/Harvard Medical School and her postdoctoral fellowship at the DCRP. Dr. Fisher’s research interests include depression, suicide, cognitive behavioral therapy, and traumatic brain injury.

Hong Jin Jeon, M.D., Ph.D. Hong Jin Jeon is an associate professor of Samsung Medical Center, Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine, Seoul, Korea, and executive professor of Depression Center of Samsung Medical Center. He is also an associate professor of Department of Clinical Research Design and Evaluation and Department of Medical Device Management and Research, Samsung Advanced Institute for Health Sciences & Technology (SAIHST), Sungkyunkwan University, Seoul, Korea.

Dr. Jeon graduated Seoul National University College of Medicine in 1996, and he completed his internship, residency and fellowship in Seoul National University Hospital. He worked as a professor in the field of depression and mood disorder in Samsung Medical Center and Sungkyunkwan University School of Medicine from 2008. He also worked as executive professor of Depression Center of Samsung Medical Center.

His research has focused on major depressive disorder and suicide prevention. Dr. Jeon has authored or co-authored more than 40 original articles, review articles, and book chapters. Dr. Jeon received Young Investigator Awards from the American Psychosomatic Association, the Korean Neuropsychiatric Association, the Korean Society for Depressive and Bipolar Disorders, and the Korean Psychosomatic Society. Dr. Jeon received many national and intramural grants such as the Basic Science Research Program through the National Research Foundation of Korea (NRF), funded by the Ministry of Education, Science and Technology and the Samsung Biomedical Research Institute grant (SBRI).

Dr. Jeon joined the Depression Clinical and Research Program (DCRP) at Massachusetts General Hospital and Harvard Medical School as a visiting scholar and research fellow from Aug 2012 to Feb 2014. He is now working as a consultant professor of MGH. His research focused on biologic understanding and treatment of major depressive disorder and prevention of suicide.

Ilana Huz graduated from Brandeis University in 2012 with a B.A. in Psychology and Education Studies. As an undergraduate, she was a research assistant in the Watson Wright Research Group. Additionally, she completed an internship at the Deaf and Hard of Hearing Program at Children’s Hospital Boston, and tutored elementary school students in the Waltham Group’s Tutoring in Public Schools program. After graduating, Ilana spent a year conducting research on psychophysiological moderators of the effects of childhood maltreatment and family violence on long term adjustment at the Child and Family Experiences Project at SUNY Albany. After her time at the DCRP, Ilana hopes to continue toward a career in clinical research by pursuing a PhD in clinical psychology.

Lindsay Hylek graduated from Colby College in 2012 with a B.A. in Psychology and Anthropology. As an undergraduate, she worked under Dr. Christopher Soto investigating personality trends throughout the lifespan using the NEO PI-R. During this time, she also interned at Hardy Girls/Healthy Women, the Multidisciplinary Eating Disorder Association, the New England Center for Children, the Bridge of Central Massachusetts, and Aspiro Wilderness Therapy. Prior to the DCRP, she spent two years in Hawaii as the Program Supervisor at Pacific Quest Outdoor Therapy, a mental health treatment center with a holistic approach to healing. Ultimately, Lindsay would like to pursue a PhD in either Clinical or Counseling Psychology.

Adrienne Jaeger graduated from Bates College in 2013 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in Spanish. She completed a senior thesis that investigated the association between context inappropriate anger and salivary cortisol levels in elementary school-aged boys. She also interned at the psychiatric department of Memorial Sloan-Kettering Cancer Center in New York City. At the end of her two years at the DCRP, Adrienne hopes to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology or become a psychiatric nurse practitioner.

Dan Kim graduated from Tufts University in 2013 with a B.A. in Clinical Psychology and Child Development. During his second year at Tufts, Dan worked as a Research Assistant under Dr. Gina Kuperberg in her lab investigating psycholinguistic differences in individuals with schizophrenia. He continued on to study abroad in Madrid and intern at the Pediatric Psychopharmacology Unit at MGH as a senior. From his experiences, he has become particularly interested in addressing mental healthcare discrepancies in sexual and ethnic minorities as well as mindfulness and imaging. At the end of his two years at the Depression Clinical and Research Program, Dan hopes to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Katie Meade graduated from Bates College in 2014 with a B.A. in psychology and a minor in Spanish. As an undergraduate, she served as a research assistant for Dr. Su Langdon, investigating hard alcohol consumption in college students. She also worked as a teaching assistant for a Health Psychology course. She spent time as an intern in the InShape Division at the Mental Health Center of Greater Manchester in Manchester, NH, which assists mentally ill adults by offering nutritional counseling and personal training aimed at improving daily functioning and overall health. Katie completed a year-long senior thesis that investigated the relationship between self-efficacy and performance satisfaction both in first time mothers and in college students. After her time at the DCRP, Katie plans to pursue a graduate degree in clinical psychology.

Susannah Parkin graduated from Hamilton College in May 2013 with a B.A. in Psychology and a minor in Sociology. As an undergraduate, she worked as a teaching assistant for a Psychology Statistics/Research Methods course and a Social Cognition Lab course. The summer after her sophomore year, Susannah interned at the Stuttering Foundation of America. She spent the fall semester of her junior year at the New England Center for Children working with students with autism and related disorders and the spring semester in Vietnam where she researched local services for children with autism. As a research assistant in Hamilton’s psychology department, Susannah helped develop and conduct a study examining defensive self-esteem and vigilance to socially threatening cues. As a senior, she expanded on this project and completed a thesis examining the role of self-awareness in rationalization among people with defensive and secure self-esteem under the guidance of Professor Jennifer Borton. At the end of her two years at the DCRP, Susannah plans to pursue graduate school in clinical psychology.

Sam Petrie graduated from Yale University in 2014 with a B.S. in Psychology. As an undergraduate, he worked as a research assistant in Yale’s Depression and Cognition Program and at the Yale School of Management behavioral lab. He also worked as an executive editor of the Yale Review of Undergraduate Research in Psychology and as a Walden peer counselor. During his junior and senior years, Sam interned at the Benhaven School for students with Autism and at Fellowship Place, a community center for adults suffering from psychiatric disorders. As a senior, he completed a thesis under Dr. Susan Nolen-Hoeksema and Dr. John Dovidio investigating the influence of contextual factors on emotion regulation. After his two years at the DCRP, Sam plans to pursue either medical school or a PhD in clinical psychology.

Michaela Swee graduated from Wesleyan University in December 2011 with a B.A. in Psychology. During her undergraduate studies, Michaela worked in three labs exploring cognitive development under Dr. Anna Shusterman, social psychology under Dr. Clara Wilkins, and eating disorders research under Dr. Ruth Striegel Weissman, and served as a teaching assistant for Social Psychology taught by Dr. Scott Plous. She also worked at NYU’s Program for Survivors of Torture at Bellevue Hospital under Dr. Andrew Rasmussen and assisted in conducting investigational psychopharmacological research in depression and schizophrenia at Hartford Hospital’s Institute of living under the supervision of Dr. Jennifer Higgins. During her undergraduate career at Wesleyan, Michaela spent a majority of her time volunteering at Whiting Forensic Institute, the maximum security unit of Connecticut Valley Hospital, where she co-led art therapy sessions with criminal defendants deemed not guilty by reason of insanity. Michaela Continues to serve as Head Teaching Assistant for a nearly 200,000 student MOOC (Massive Open Online Course) on Social Psychology taught by Professor Scott Plous, which serves to bring cost free education to individuals of diverse socioeconomic backgrounds from all corners of the world. After her year at the DCRP, Michaela plans to pursue a PhD in clinical psychology, focusing on anxiety and depression comorbidity in adults, and investigating new ways to augment traditionally accepted means of treatment with various forms of art and expressive therapies.